2. The Apprentice Pillar
Charley saw something in the nature of fetishism that existed in the mainstream world of police and judges, priests and archbishops. The fetish scene merely borrowed these symbols of identity and control and used them for their own pleasure. In other words, they sexed it up.
He walked through a dark, private, chamber and approached a man and a woman dressed as Gothic vampires. Their body language became inviting, like two spiders in a web, as he nodded and passed on by.
A highly charged scene awaited him as he passed the threshold and entered a vast vaulted room which acted as the main dance area. Directly to his right there stood one of the fetish club’s many expensive toys.
Repeated use had given the whipping post a patina you would enjoy on your favourite piece of furniture. Bodily fluids and friction from hot naked bodies had produced a conditioning effect which was hard to beat. Gathered around this pole there stood a mixed crowd of voyeurs. The tension and excitement were visible, as short cracks of the whip rang out, cutting through the DJ’s progressive bass like a knife.
Charley watched for any hint of tension among the crowd. His job as a bouncer brought him into contact with many strange sights and strange people who then went home to their nice respectable lives of teaching, politics and dispensing the law.
“Charley!” A rubber-clad figure came out of the shadows.
“Chee-Chee, is that you?”
She put hands on her hips in her ‘Little Miss Prissy’ pose. “You like what you see?” She twirled around and allowed the meagre light to pick out her rubber catsuit. He found it hard not to admire the way the fiery sequins highlighted her exposed torso, arms and shoulders.
“You look great, Chee-Chee,” he said, resisting the caveman urge to scoop her up and whisk her off somewhere dark and quiet.
“Want some Hippie Crack?” she shouted, putting a half deflated balloon to her mouth. The balloon shrank as she inhaled.
The club sold them over the bar. Tonight’s colour was ‘Virgin White’ but they also came in silver, black and burgundy. Their colours rotated weekly, with red reserved for Christmas.
“I’m good.”
“Still doing Charlie, Charley?”
He gave her a disapproving look and turned his gaze towards the dance floor. There was an energy in the crowd tonight. The stone vaulted ceiling hovered sixty feet above their heads and danced with light from the glitter balls and strobe lighting. It almost made it look like there were bats fluttering around up there. But then it was possible given the age of the building.
She moved in close to shout in his ear. “One day you might tire of the Mundanes and join our happy crew? I think my family understand my lifestyle more than yours.”
He put his mouth close to her ear. “You know this isn’t the place — “
“We miss you, Charley. If it still bothers you that much, give it all away. We’d still want to see you, just not in your world.” She referred to his family’s vast wealth and his occupation as a doorman. For her, the two cancelled each other out. His view differed, which was the problem.
He laughed. “Not everyone can live in a gilded cage.”
“We don’t all have to live in the gutter, either.” She looked annoyed.
“Chee-Chee, I have to go, I’m working, remember?” He looked across the room and caught sight of Jennet, a fellow bouncer and close friend. Chee-Chee, real name Rebecca, caught him looking and smiled broadly.
“Dear me, Charley, I see Jennet is still following you around the place? I can’t believe she’d also lower herself to work as a bouncer in a fetish club. And all just to see her Charley. What would Daddy think? Maybe I should pay him a visit at his practice on Harley Street and find out. I’m sure he could fit me in between Botox and Lipo sessions.” She laughed that deep throaty laugh that had so turned him on when he and she had been seeing each other.
This angered Charley, though he showed little outward indication and instinctively used someone bumping into him as a distraction. Chee-Chee knew him only too well, though and continued her goading. “Oh, Charley, are you getting sweet on Jennet? Has she finally managed to melt poor Charley’s heart?”
“Keep Jennet and her dad out of this. If I hear you’ve been anywhere near Jennet’s family you’ll have me to deal with.” He knew he’d been played but had to make it clear that he would not budge on this issue and that there’d be hell to pay if she crossed him.
“That’s my Charley. Treat me rough. You know I like it that way.”
Despite himself, Charley remembered some of the highlights of treating Chee-Chee to her favourite pastime and making her groan with pleasure. He smiled at the thought and eyed her inviting figure and knew his attention would please and maybe appease her.
She smiled. “Oh, I love it when you eye me up like a piece of meat in a butcher’s shop. I still bring out the caveman in you, Charley. Just be gentle when you drag me around your cave by my hair. Well, not too gentle, just don’t do it all day.”
“Chee-Chee, you’re terrible. When are you ever going to settle down and find a nice man who treats you well?”
“I’ve already found him and I’m not giving up on him quite as easily as he’d like. Keep in touch, Charley. I’m always here for you.” She moved in close, grabbed his large hand and placed it on her rear. The warm rubber felt malleable and strangely appealing.
He pulled it away but only after giving her a friendly squeeze. “That’s the Charley we know and love,” she said teasingly, while planting a kiss on his right cheek. He could smell a lingering pocket of her perfume as she drifted off to rejoin her small band of merry friends.
He backtracked to the main room. The DJ was in his usual spot, dishing out tunes to the converted. Strobe lights added to the scene of confusion and chaos, making everything disjointed and hard to follow.
Behind the DJ and protected by Plexiglas, a large and intricately carved pillar stood proud of the heaving stone floor. It had snakes and Masonic symbols spiralling up and down its length. It was supposed to depict the tree of knowledge and the bridging between the dark underground (hell) and the bright blue arching sky (heaven). To Charley it looked like something you’d put on a wedding cake.
The story behind it was that a young stonemason had carved the pillar while his Master had been away abroad. His Master had a mind to research this very project to give himself the knowledge and confidence to take it on. It was going to be his 5th symphony, the masterpiece he’d be remembered for.
On his return, jealous of the workmanship, the Master Mason had struck the boy dead at the base of the pillar.
A bust of the Master (after his execution) had later been made by fellow masons and placed just across the room so that he may look on at the creation which had sparked such rage and envy.
Some said a curse lay upon it from that day.
After what seemed like an age, he decided he needed a lift. He signalled to Jennet and headed for the rest-room.
Mirror, Mirror
To get to the staff toilets, he had to pass through a larger room. The light was always left on in the toilet but not in the room he had to pass through to get there. Using the light that shone through the open door before him, he picked his way past the dusty boxes and mop buckets that created a virtual corridor before him. It was also used as an office and first-aid room but a junk room seemed its main purpose now.
The red and black quarry tiles that greeted him beneath the yellow glow of the energy-saving bulb as he neared the entrance to the bathroom.
Sitting on the worn bare toilet seat, he fished out a black lacquered box from his inside pocket. Holding it firmly in both hands, enjoying the smooth curved edges and concealed hinges, he pressed the solid gold stud that released the lid. The mechanical click sounded loud in the confines of the room. He smiled to hear it. This was part of his ritual, enjoying the contents as they openly revealed themselves to the room. He took out the glass vial, pulled out the black rubber cork with his teeth and tapped some of its powdery contents on to the box’s inset mirror. With that done, he re-corked the vail and reached for the sterling silver blade. Custom engraved, it came away from the velvet slot with ease.
Holding his breath, he chopped the larger crystals into smaller ones and the smaller ones into fine dust that could be snorted. He knew time could fly all too soon so he was mindful of this part of the ritual. At last, he felt satisfied and worked his efforts into two straight lines. Putting the blade back into its slot, he brought a clear plastic straw into play and expertly drew one line into each nostril.
After patiently waiting for the buzz to subside and went to the washbasin to freshen up. He could feel it in the back of his throat. It was the worst part but it was also strangely satisfying. He checked his eyes. His pupils were large, like saucers.
The water was cool and welcoming. He had the nagging need to get back to Jennet before she suspected anything was up. How long had he been away? Too long, he was sure. He tried to push these thoughts away, turned the tap off, and looked at the mirror above the washbasin.
He wasn’t positive what he saw at first. It was like seeing a double exposure, his face seemingly overlaid with one of the creatures from his dreams. The mirror looked frosted over, his face dissolving to reveal the craziness of his mind. Staring back at him was the ghost of his former self. It smiled back at him, enjoying his fear.
The air started to feel chilled and his breaths left him in short bursts, settling as condensation on the mirror’s ice-cold surface. He felt increasingly detached and alarmed as he also saw frost forming on his face and hair.
It’s the drugs, he thought wildly. All he could do was grip the white porcelain of the Victorian sink. He felt frozen and unable to move.
His mind squirmed inside its skull. Even in his worst nightmares, he had still been himself, bodiless and somehow distanced from the terrible scenes he saw. He’d always felt their wish to wipe clean all humanity and set fire to what remained. It had always been a dream though. This seemed very real.
“Are you okay?” The voice came from a long way off but he knew it was just behind him.
Wait, hadn’t he closed the bathroom door? He wasn’t sure any more. As much as he tried, he couldn’t answer. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the face that looked at him from the mirror.
“Mate, are you alright?”
He felt a hand touch his slumped shoulder. The stark light hurt his eyes but he fought back tears when he understood why the hand on his shoulder felt so strange. Its fingers were long, tapering, and clumsily crossed over one another with amazing strength.
“Should I call for help?” The voice said, taking on a sinister tone. The face of the stranger loomed into view and held his gaze.
Just like his dreams, he found himself to be a bystander, unable to move or act in any way. In his growing paralysis his hands were cold and felt welded to the basin.
The figure that loomed up behind him had no hair and its skin was like parchment. He found it almost impossible to focus on the face. His features shifted and changed, like army ants on a hotplate.
The cold was getting to him now and he felt numb all over. His thoughts settled and he looked unblinking at the face now looking at him. He noticed markings etched into its right cheek. To Charley, it seemed to hold the key to some strange and wonderful mystery. Like a maze of interlocking lines, all emanating from or leading to, its centre. He saw many of the lines crossed over pathways, like bridges.
“Those are the short-cuts; you’ll do well to remember them.” He wasn’t sure whether it was the creature talking or just a voice within his own head.
Then the figure was gone, as if it had never been there. He was alone, his face in the mirror looking as it normally did. This sudden shift back to normality was almost as strange as what he’d just witnessed. He pushed away from the basin and turned to look around. There was nothing there.
Must be the drugs, he thought blearily, cut with some bizarre hallucinogen of some sort. He’d no doubt be having some fine words with the person who sold them to him.
Damn, that was ugly, he thought, vowing to deliver a whole verse of fine words, along with a punchline.
Boneyard
Once he felt composed enough to return, he slipped out of the bathroom, feeling the darkness of the room outside as if it were awaiting his return. Fear blossomed in his paranoid mind as he rushed through the cluttered interior.
He found the door still locked. Not real, he thought with relief, thinking about the long-fingered creature that had stood behind him at the mirror.
A rustling noise came from behind. The key slipped from his hand and he bent down to find it. His hand searched blindly along what he knew to be worn linoleum and he prayed it hadn’t slid under the door.
The worst thing would be for him to knock it under the gap of the door in panic. He’d never live it down. Working slowly, his fingers blindly brushed across the floor and finally found it.
Unlocking the door, he darted through, just as he heard his name whispered from within. His heart pounded as he went through the same gut-wrenching process of locking it behind him. Sweat beaded his forehead.
With his brow pressed firmly against the solid door, he heard a scratching noise that sounded like a frustrated teacher clawing a blackboard.
“Charley!”
He jumped, despite himself. It was Steve, one of the other bouncers. “Do you have to sneak up on people, Steve?”
“Sorry, mate, this place gives me the creeps too. I hear there’s bodies buried under the main dance floor.” Steve gave a matter of fact look and pulled his shoulders back in readiness for an expected argument.
Charley always thought Steve’s bouncer suit looked a couple of sizes too small. Maybe it was the biggest size the management could find for his overly large build or he’d found himself caught out in the rain while wearing it.
“I wouldn’t believe everything you hear,” he said, noticing the echo of his voice and not quite believing his own words as they came back at him.
There probably were dead bodies in here, as well as in the grounds outside. How they’d acquired a license to turn a church or chapel into a fetish club was a mystery to him. He’d heard that it had just been a standard nightclub at first, so he guessed that it was a natural progression to turn the place into a fetish club. Seeing a church converted into a mere playground must have been quite a draw. They were a colourful lot, always looking for something new and exciting to satisfy their jaded tastes.
“Jennet sent me to find you. Now that I have, I think I’ll take a leak. Do you have the key?”
“Sure.” He handed the key, noting that his hand still had a slight tremor.
Steve took the key and opened the door. The darkness was the same, with no boxes out-of-place that he could see. “Someone needs to fix that light, someone’s going to trip and break their necks one of these days. See you in a bit.”
“Yeah, take care in there, Steve. Hey, maybe they ran out of space and put some bodies under that floor too?”
“Do you think?”
“Na, only kidding,” he admitted, trying not to think too hard on what might be under the floors.
“Hey, it’s not funny. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll keep the door open. If anyone rushes me, I’ll send them back to the stone age!” Steve crept theatrically into the room, a big grin across his face.
“You do that, Steve, and remember to get their names so we can compare them against the tombstones outside.”
“Will do, Charley. I always get my victim’s name!” he said cheerily, disappearing out of sight. He reappeared by the bathroom door, his own hand around his neck. His arm hidden behind the door, he contorted his face as if he were being pulled to his death.
Nodding his head in amused dismay, Charley headed back down the stone hallway. When he got back into the main dance area, the strobe lights were off and the smoke machines were belching it out. The thought of all the bodies under the floor made him shudder. He imagined skeletal hands rising up through the dense fog and grabbing the legs of the dancers.
The thought of the living, pulled under by the dead, stayed with him as he approached Jennet. It was as if it were a sign, but of what he couldn’t say. He shrugged it off because it only made him feel more unhinged than he already did.
As he made his way towards Jennet, he picked his path carefully, not wishing contact with any naked dancers. Perhaps they noticed his underlying mood because they often went before he had to lay a hand on them.
“Charley, glad you joined me,” Jennet said, fighting to raise her voice over the noise of the room. “I thought you’d gone to sleep on the toilet?”
“No such luck. I was hoping we could get a break?”
“Sure.” She signalled Steve, who was making his way back safely from the toilet. He nodded, while putting his hands in the air in mock fear. “What’s that all about?”
“Long story,” he shouted back as they made their way through interconnecting rooms and the hallway beyond.
In reception, they passed tables with assorted sex toys and fetish items in glass covered boxes. All of the items had hefty price tags on them. The open doors pulled him on and he could feel the fresh air as it seeped through. It was bliss.
“Charley, me old cocker!” exclaimed one of the larger men as they made their way outside. The other guy was less familiar, but he nodded his head at Charley and Jennet , by way of a hello, while rubbing his hands together in an attempt to get the circulation going.
“Boss, do you need us, only me and Jennet could do with a break?”
“We’re fine for now, Charley. Might need you back out in a bit though. Mikie’s getting frostbite out here, aren’t you Mikie?” Mikie just nodded, looking pained and accepting of his lot.
“Sure, we won’t be long.”
“Take as long as you want, Charley,” he said winking, a broad smile breaking his face. “Oh, and if you see Danny, tell him to get his arse out of his comfy seat and get it outside so this lad can toast his toes on the dance floor with Steve.”
“Sure,” he said and made his way after Jennet , who’d already gone to make the most of her break. He then stopped in mid stride. Above his head, he heard something move in the darkness.
Looking up, his eyes made out a shifting presence that went suddenly still. Two red lights, the size of golf balls, shone in the darkness. Still and steady, and set apart from one another. Charley had the strange feeling they were intently watching him. It struck him that maybe it was a security device. Maybe some sort of alarm or night vision camera but he felt sure that no device would give off that kind of light.
“What the….” he breathed and then, “Hey, does anyone else see this?” He looked around, instinctively, to see if they were taking notice. It took only a second but when he looked back, it was gone. The eyes, the shape he thought he’d seen; there was nothing there.
“What is it, Charley?” his Boss asked.
“Oh, nothing; I just thought I saw something up there,” he said, nodding above the twenty-foot high doorway. “Might have been a bat,” he said dismissively, not wanting to say what he thought he’d seen.
“Yeah, you get them around here. Maybe they live in the church tower or that big Yew tree over there?” Charley’s boss said, pointing at the hollowed out gnarly tree some fifty feet away. “Damn things swoop down on us sometimes. You never had that happen, Charley?”
“Never,” he conceded and started walking into the church. He arrived as Jennet was setting out two coffees.
“You were a while?”
“Yeah, I thought I saw something outside. Bats, I think.” He went to take the coffee that Jennet offered him. “Thanks, Jennet,” he took the offered drink and spotted Danny lounging in one of the two sofas. “Danny, boss wants you on the door with him so the new boy can warm himself up on the dance floor Steve. Hot date, I think.”
Folding the newspaper, he muttered and stood up. “No rest for the wicked, Charley?”
Struck by how right this saying was, given his lack of sleep lately, he nodded in agreement, “And no work for Danny, if the Boss finds you slacking again.”
Danny laughed, “I’ll make it up to him when you lot go home; give him his own personal lap-dance, I will. He likes that, helps him wind down after a long day.”
“If he hears you saying that he’ll bounce you out the door with your P45 stuck up your arse,” he said lightly. He knew that wouldn’t happen, of course, they were always winding each other up over one-thing-or-another. Danny’s sister put him up for the job and Danny’s sister happened to be married to their Boss. There was no getting away from that.
Once Danny had gone, he settled down on the sofa where he’d been. On the far wall there were some CCTV screens that recorded the static cameras inside and outside the club. No one took much notice of them until there was a problem. Because there was rarely a problem, they just consumed electric.
“Nice and warm,” he said, wiggling his bum into the comfy-sofa.
“Yeah, from his farts,” she said bemusedly. “I think I’ll sit over here, if you don’t mind?”
Charley looked as if he was sitting on a landmine. Jennet laughed because she knew it was just an act for her sake. “You may have a point,” he said, sitting back and putting his legs up on the scruffy coffee table, “but I ain’t moving.”
He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked at the black and white CCTV monitors. Danny and his Boss were on the door. He figured the New Boy must be with Steve. Most of the monitors were too dark to make out. One showed the DJ area and the snake post and another showed the main entrance around the side. It was outside this service exit that he’d sworn he’d seen something move.
Pointing straight down, the CCTV showed mostly tarmac with a few cars poking into the frame. No cars were allowed to park directly outside these large double doors, in the event that a fire or riot broke out. A yellow square with diagonal lines warned people about parking in this area. A no parking sign had also been screwed to the door as a further warning.
“What is it, Charley?” Jennet asked curiously.
“I don’t know, I thought I saw something move by the service entrance.”
“Must have been a stray cat or a fox,” she said, looking at Charley’s intense stare. “We are in the countryside, after all.”
He hardly heard; he’d just spotted a head move into the bottom part of the camera. “Look!” he said, leaning forward.
“Ewww — what’s that?”
“I don’t know,” he said, eyes still fixed to the screen. A head, with jet-black hair and pale face, smiled back at them; its eyes looked hollow and gaunt. He felt a slight shudder. It reminded him of what he’d seen in the mirror and he didn’t like it. “Maybe they’re clubbers up to no-good…..or local kids?”
“You know most of the people here would have sex in the middle of the dance floor before going out in the cold. And local kids are too scared to come here, they think we’re all devil worshippers.”
The head moved out of view and his attention snapped back. “I better check it out,” he said and put his drink down on the coffee table. He took a quick look at the monitors as he headed for the door. His Boss and Danny were in their place by the club entrance. Nothing seemed out-of-sorts with them.
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, you stay here and watch the monitors. If anything happens, call the police.”
Jennet didn’t like Charley’s demand but she knew it made sense. If she saw something kick off, she would call the cops and then run out to help. “Okay, Charley, but be careful.”
He didn’t reply. As he was approaching the door, he saw someone new come into view on the club entrance camera. He saw Danny and his Boss close ranks, stopping any chance of the figure entering the building.
His pace quickened. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling that he had.
